Yellowjacket men push Dixie State to limit, fall 75-72 Saturday

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Saturday, November 28, 2015 Yellowjacket men push Dixie State to limit, fall 75-72 Saturday

Nearly overcoming a 14-point deficit down the stretch, MSUB’s men’s basketball team falls just short in a 75-72 loss to Dixie State on Saturday evening.

BILLINGS, Mont. – Despite rallying from a 14-point deficit to a one-possession game down the stretch, the Montana State University Billings men’s basketball team came up just short Saturday night at Alterowitz Gym in a 75-72 loss to Dixie State University.

With 10:06 to play, MSUB stared a 60-47 deficit in the face as Mason Sawyer drained a jumper for the Red Storm. The Yellowjackets refused to give up however, scoring 23 of the next 30 points to get back into the game.

Cutting to within a single possession, Emmanuel Johnson drilled a three from the left wing to make the score 70-67 with 2:02 left on the game clock. MSUB got as close as 74-72 after a free-throw by Jordan Perry with nine seconds left, but a final make from the foul line by Sawyer sealed DSU’s third win of the season.

“Our guys did a good job not letting the game get away from us,” commented MSUB head coach Jamie Stevens. “We talked about limiting their run, and when we got down, we did a nice job of keeping it close. I am glad the guys didn’t quit, and we played hard all 40 minutes. This gives us something to build on moving forward.”

The Yellowjackets fell to 2-4 with the loss, dropping their second straight after two consecutive wins last week. The Red Storm pulled their record to .500 on the year at 3-3 with the win.

Marc Matthews led the Yellowjackets with 22 points, and played all 40 minutes as the team was limited to just seven players for a fourth straight game. Christian Evans chipped in a dozen points and seven rebounds, and Perry was also in double figures with 14. Johnson led the way for MSUB with eight boards, and also scored seven points.

For DSU, Trevor Hill was the top scorer with a game-best 28, and Sawyer (14) and Mark Ogden Jr. (10) also scored in double figures. Robbie Nielson led the charge in rebounding with eight, as DSU held a narrow 30-28 edge over MSUB on the glass.

Back-to-back threes by Matthews broke a dry spell for MSUB that lasted nearly four minutes after the opening tip, and cut into a 7-0 run by DSU to start the game. A left-handed layup by Perry in transition pulled the score even at 12-12 after the first media timeout.

The ‘Jackets kept pace with the Red Storm, but a three and a jumper by Sawyer pushed DSU’s lead back to seven points with 7:44 to play before halftime.

Matthews upped his first-half point total to 15 with another trey, but a foul shot by Hill helped DSU regain a double-digit edge up 37-27. Perry hit threes on two straight possessions to keep MSUB in the game, but the Red Storm carried a 4133 lead into the locker room.

Josh Fuller flushed home a loud dunk on a breakaway early on in the second half, but Perry responded on the other end with a desperation three that beat the shot-clock buzzer and made it a six-point game.

A strong defensive board by Johnson sparked a 9-0 run by the ‘Jackets as the team made a final push with six minutes to go down 63-58. The ‘Jackets ultimately came up just short, as a full court heave at the buzzer was well off the mark in the three-point loss.

As a team MSUB shot 46.6 percent from the field (27-for-58), 34.6 percent from 3-point range (9-for-26), and 75 percent from the free-throw line (9-for-12). The Red Storm countered with marks of 45.9 percent overall (28-for-61), 35.7 percent from long range (5-for-14), and 66.7 percent from the foul line (14-for-21).

Nine offensive boards led to nine second-chance points for DSU, while MSUB had 18 turnovers and 16 assists. Jace Anderson finished the game with nine points and led the team with four assists. Matthews was named the St. Vincent Healthcare Player of the Game for MSUB. “Dixie is a model west region program, and I thought our guys did a nice job competing against them,” Stevens said. “We competed way better than we did last night. I was pleased with our effort, and thought we took a step forward tonight as a program. We are excited about where we are at as we head into the first week of GNAC play.”

UP NEXT: MSUB begins Great Northwest Athletic Conference play with a road trip to Oregon next week. The ‘Jackets will take on Concordia University on Thursday and Western Oregon University on Saturday, with live video and statistics available for both matchups on the West Coast.

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